Gilraen's Tale
by Leviathan1988uk
Summary: This is about a Bosmer who encounters the Dark Brotherhood but was beknown to who they are and what interest they have with her until she wakes up in prison. Murders leak back to her, but she does not remember commiting such crimes. New chapter added.
1. Hazy Recollections

Chapter 1: Hazy Recollections

Gilraen woke up, still disorientated from her slumber. She couldn't really see anything but blurs and double images. She took a few seconds of her time to try to put these images together and recollect why she was even here in the first place. This room had nothing fancy about it; in fact it was much less than fancy: no light, except that of a candle. There was also a table where she was sat. The room itself was just a four-cornered box; from what she could make out it was just brickwork and flickering shadows. Before Gilraen continued her analysis of the room, she noticed two people staring at her vacantly, she stared back, confused about her surroundings and the two men sitting in front of her. One of them seemed impatient. He rocked on his chair to and fro through impatience; he then leaned on the table, resting his chin on his arms, glaring.

The man to the right seemed to be the authoritative figure. He was an Imperial, probably in his forties, but the candlelight shining on his face revealed aging wrinkles. Straight-lined shadows on the Imperial's face were the only noticeable features he had, the indentations of shadows were almost hypnotic. Another thing that was clearly visible, his expression was deeply serious, he rarely blinked and he waited for her lips to open before he would talk.  
The guy on the left seemed to be the rookie, a Brenton. He was a lot younger than his counterpart; had possibly just reached his twenties. A cloak partially covered his face, hiding him in the shadows, but a vibrant green glint shone through, piercing the darkness.

Gilraen also noticed a darker presence hiding in the shadows. The two figures sitting in front of her seemed to be oblivious to it: all their focus was centred on her. It was hard to place this presence, it was like a cold shivering sensation pinning her ability to breathe, she held her breath for a moment, and then she cleared her throat to alleviate the choking sensation. Then she noticed a black aura coming from the corners of the room. The weird thing was, that the black aura seemed to be blacker than the shadows surrounding the presence; it was a man but it seemed that he was himself a shadow.

"It's been a good five minutes now and she hasn't said a word, do you think we should actually question her now?" The rookie was obviously bored. The older Imperial answered coldly.  
"Very well, friend. We found you out cold near the body of a Nordic man known as Tredan Agilberht. Now the funny thing is, we found an odd looking Ebony Dagger near your right hand. It was covered in blood." The Imperial was looking for a reaction. "What's your name?"  
"... Gilraen"  
"Just Gilraen? What's your last name?"  
"I do not have one." Or does she? She couldn't remember having one at least.

Hazy recollections began to appear in Gilraen's mind. She did remember running away from a certain event, but could not remember from what. She also recalled a sense of peace whilst running away, which she surely would not have felt if she had killed someone. Though she tried to process what had happened, much of the event was shrouded in fog.

"I don't remember..." Gilraen still felt the presence of the shadowed man; concentration was drawn to him rather than the two authoritative figures.  
The rookie slams the table. "Like hell you don't! What happened! Where did you get that dagger!"  
"I idon't/i remember. All I remember is running away from something." Attention was now drawn away; the abruptness of the sudden outburst had shocked her for a moment. Stinging images of the dagger pierced the mind. Where did she get this? The authoritative figure un-sheathed the Ebony Dagger and placed it on the table.

"Does this look at all familiar to you?" The Imperial was curious where Gilraen had got the dagger.  
"No, I never use daggers, I prefer using the bow."

The Imperial asked the Brenton to leave the room for a minute. The rookie was wearing some kind of strange cloak, though not your average monk's cloak. It was a midnight blue colour and Gilraen noticed a symbol, some kind of red seal. It looked like a forester of some kind, imprinted on the shoulder. He walked off, opening the door to the left of the room. As it opened it a beam of light revealed all sorts of shackles and objects of torture. The door closed and again the room fell to shadow.

"We know you had something to do with this. We're not who you think we are. We can help you. We just want to know what happened after the killing, and where you got that dagger from."  
Gilraen was more preoccupied with the symbol that she saw on the rookies' shoulder. It was so familiar. But why is it here, in Tamriel? Wasn't that in Vvardenfell? She couldn't place where she had seen it before, but she knew this was more than an interrogation with your average guards.  
"I can't really remember, all I can remember is running away from the man. I ran into a alley and then..."

Images of the dark alleyway began to form from the back of her mind. There was agony in the images, and then she remembered a deep voice speaking to her.  
"The Foresters, they will find you. They will turn you to their side. They will use you as a pawn. Come sister, be loyal to the Dark Brotherhood." Images became dark and hazy. Gilraen could only remember sinking into an aybss of darkness, she did not fight the urge to keep standing as she felt that all her endurance was being sapped away. Frame by frame, she sank to the ground in a comforting motion.

"...And then?" The Imperial was curious for the answer.  
"I tripped on something… People these days leaving rubbish scattered all over the place... I must have hit my head on the way down."  
"Let me get this straight. You were running away from something, you don't know what, and you tripped on some rubble on the floor..." Anger began to swell in his previously emotionless face. "...do you really expect me to believe this!"  
"I'm as confused as you are, sir."  
"What about the Dagger, huh? Where did you get that from?"  
"Look, I've told you already. I don't know..."

There was a moment of stale silence. The Imperial sighed at her response, knowing that he was going to get nothing more from the Wood Elf. The Imperial called for his partner and a few guards. Gilraen could tell he was looking for a different answer. There was more to the picture here, that strange seal. It seemed most familiar to Gilraen. There was also much focus on the dagger that she'd mysteriously had in her possession at the time of the murder.  
A beam of light entered the room again as the door opened, the Brenton and two Imperial guards walked in. The guards grabbed Gilraen.

"You are under arrest for the murder of Tredan Agilberht. You will be sentenced to death."

The guards escorted Gilraen to a dungeon with only four cells. There was little light. The cell they took her to had a crudely formed window that was barred with rusted iron. There was only one empty cell. One had a Dunmer. The other had a shaded man; he didn't look like the murdering type. He was in the cell across from the Dunmer, who looked skinny, worn to the bone. He also seemed eccentric, rambling as she was being escorted to her cell. One of the guards hit the cell bars with his gauntlet, this made the old Dunmer jump back, rambled abuse continued from the cell.  
The guards opened the cell door in the bottom left corner of the dungeon. It screeched; it obviously had not been used in years. It wasn't much of a cell; there was only a table in the corner and some form of a bed. Remnants of rats lay here and there. To the right of her was the cell of the unknown man. It appeared that he ignored the Dunmer, he was possibly used to the rambles of the crazy Dunmer, and maybe it was like background sound to him. A white noise perhaps. Gilraen however was not used to this. She made the best of it and rested upon the bed roll but before she could sleep, she was compelled to look outside through the rusty barred window. She stared at the stars in the distance twinkling in the background of the midnight sky. Thoughts of being outside again bombarded her mind. She kept staring until the hypnotic stars made her eyes close.

She had a vivid dream. Running through the shadowed alley, everything fell silent. There were sounds from the locals, no scurryings of the rats, even the sewers could not be heard. It seemed everything had stopped, including Gilraen. She stopped dead but it wasn't in terror, it was more out of surprise. She saw a dark figure walking slowly towards her. She couldn't actually see anything; it was like a shadow beyond a shadow. The only way she could tell something was there was by her senses. She could see the dark aura that was blacker than black. Then she heard a voice.

"Welcome to the Dark Brotherhood, child."

She woke up, sweat pouring from her forehead, heart racing, breathing uncontrollable. Yet she felt oddly cold from this experience, almost like she had been awakened anew. Gilraen screamed in her dream. Or was it a dream? Whatever it was, it woke the neighbouring Dunmer. Gilraen walked up to the cell bars and was about to apologise for the rudeness, but did not get a chance.

"I..."  
"Well now, a pretty little Wood Elf. You're a little far from the forest, huh?  
Looks like your days of woodland frolicking have come to a tragic end. To go from the gladdened home of Valenwood to a rat infested hole like this... How very sad. Those walls must feel like they're closing in on you. Pretty soon you'll go mad and the guards will cut your throat just to stop the ranting. That's right you're going to die in here Wood Elf. DIE!"

The footfalls of guards came from the passageway and she could see the shadows from their torches.  
Gilraen backed away slowly from the bars, fearing for her life.

"Hey, you hear that? The guards are coming for you. Hehehehahahaha." 


	2. A Momentary Sigh of Relief

Chapter 2: A Momentary Sigh of Relief.

Gilraen heard the dungeon door shut, dust and dried mud travelled down the stairwell from the force of the slammed door. The shadows from the stone staircase that led to the dungeon emitted four figures. Three were guards, identified by the shadows upon the wall, obvious to anyone that they were carrying weapons of some sort. The guards were heavily armoured, the continuous well kept pace of grinding metal from the armour rubbing against itself provided a loud marching sound. One of the guards had a torch in hand making shadows dance rapidly from side to side, revealing cracks and loose rocks in the crudely built walls. Screeches from rats were made as they scurried away from the violent flash of light, the rats sudden retreat broke away peices of rubble from the warn down staircase. There seemed to be urgency in the figure's strides. Whispers of treachery and concerns for the Emperor's sons were heard. Echoing through the stone dungeon the voice of a woman was heard echoing down the stairwell.

"Baurus, lock that door behind us."

"Yes, sir" Baurus must have been a lower ranked guard; there was obedience in his voice. Then a deeper voice was heard. It seemed the fourth person was of some importance, maybe a royal? "My sons, they're dead aren't they?"

"We don't know that sire. The messenger only said they were attacked." The female guard tried to ease the royals fears.

"No... They're dead. I know it..."There was a pause, a stale silence that no one would like to suffer.

"... My job right now is to get you to safety."

The words of the Dunmer stuck in her mind. She believed the guards were coming for her. Panic hit her hard. She wondered what to do, how could she escape death? What had she done to deserve this? She had committed no murder. Gilraen could not remember a thing about it. It was a blank... It couldn't have happened, right? But what was this about the Dark Brotherhood? Who were they? What was their interest in Gilraen? She found it hard to think. There were so many questions searing her mind, but no answers.

Gilraen hurried to the back of the cell to find anything to aid her defence. There was little, not even bones. All she could do was wait. The banging of her heart over-dubbed the marching of the guards.

The guards and the old royal were now in plain sight of Gilraen. The three guards were dressed in elaborate, heavy-iron armour. Decorated with yellow and green leather patches, with some golden tassels to keep the breastplate attached to the user.

The lower region of the cuirass was the most eye-catching piece of their armour. It was typical except for the leg protection. The iron plating was coloured golden with intricate designs depicting an Asian culture. Beneath, there was emerald silk padding. Their helmets had a golden strip that ran down the centre, stopping at the nasal bone. At either side of the helmet was adjustable iron plating angled towards their jawbones. The iron left enough freedom to see without any hinderance to perception and speech.

The guards were wielding strange Katanas. All three were identical. The blade itself was like any other Katana, but the tanka was unique. It was rimmed in gold plating of the same conceptial art that of their armour. The base of the disk was emerald, with more golden Asian designs centred on the blade.

Walking alongside the guards was the royal. He was not armoured, but he equipped himself with a simple silver short sword. He wore a sleeved purple cloak, outlined in the same golden design as the guards. The collar was replaced with pure white fur padding. Beneath the cloak was a crimson over-all which covered his body; shoulders to feet. The gown was designed in golden leaves.

Gilraen couldn't help but notice the pendant that the aged royal was wearing; it was by far the largest ruby she had ever seen. It was shaped like a pyramid and a golden kite shaped pendant encased it. Even the chain itself was made with pure gold. Light refracted from the pendant, lighting the dungeon with a faint crimson colour.

The guards headed to the cell next to Gilraen. She was still tense with fear but she knew that they were not after her. Even so, Gilraen backed away from the cell door and moved to the corner of the cell. She couldn't help but notice how small the cell boxed her in like a caged beast waiting helplessly for the ringmaster. The cell seemed to close in on her. She began to hyperventilate; unable to control herself she pressed her back against the wall and slowly fell to the floor. She pulled her legs in close and hooked her arms round them. Then she began to rock to and fro.

"I know this place... A prison?" The royal seemed confused; realising his surroundings, temporarelly forgetting the fate of his sons. The guards escorted the royal to the cell where the shaded man was captive.

"What's this prisoner doing here?! This cell is suppose to be off limits." Baurus blurted, enforcing authority at a moment of chrisis.

"... Usual mix up with the watch... I... I..." The third guard, obviously new to his duties stuttered before the female guard intervened.

"... Never mind, get that gate open. Stand back prisoner, we won't hesitate to kill you if you get in our way."

"You. 'Prisoner.' Stand aside." Baurus pointed in a forceful manner. "Over by the window. Stay out of the way and you won't get hurt."

The cell door creaked open and shards of rubble fell from the aged ceiling. The guards and the royal walked into the cell room. The last thing Gilraen heard from the cell was sound of rock splitting apart. The floor vibrated violently. A moment later, the marching sounds of the heavy armour were not to be heard and the dungeon fell to silence once again.

Gilraen began to calm herself, her breathing returned to normal. Gilraen sighed with relief; she knew she wasn't going to die, yet. She crept back into the bedroll still shocked from her experience and wished that she were outside in the forests. Tears began to fall from her eyes. Becoming sore and had to remove the irritation. She pulled her tattered sleeve away and saw her tears; still sobbing Gilraen closed her eyes and slept.


	3. Pariah from the Tree Village of Outcasts

**Chapter 3: The Pariah from the Tree Village of Outcasts.**

Like most Bosmer, Gilraen hailed from Valenwood, however that is where the similarity ends. Gilraen knew very little about Valenwood itself, she was born into a remote village which seemed strange to her at times but she never questioned it through her time she spent there. The village what she came to know as home was called _Galad Caras_, "Tree Village" in common tongue. In some sense, _Galad Caras_ was a village but not that of any land dweller would be used to, anyone else would mistake it for a large expanse of forest since the Wood Elves used the trees for their lodgings, many of the trees were hollowed out at high distances to keep outsiders out, light coloured wood was used around the hollowed entrance to create a base floor up high in the gigantic trees. Cracks could be seen in the ancient wood, local Bosmer used the same coloured wooden planks to overlay large holes that could present danger.

Spiralled staircases made from the same lightwood rooted its self around the trees heading down to the ground level. The staircase laid host to all sorts of native ivy hiding it to the naked eye.

Bamboo bridges were made to connect the wooden circular bases, making the mass of trees into a honeycombed complex. Along the bridges one could only see the canopy of branched green shooting off to all corners of the un-travelled forest. Even above, leafs from gigantic trees blocked the glaring sunshine; only to allow beams of light to come through. Flies native to the forest could be seen vividly through the beams of light, reflecting off fluorescent dark-green flashes for a temporary second.

When Gilraen was bored she tended to walk outside from her small house to the bridges and watched leafs that fell from the trees as they gyrated on their way down. It amused her as they travelled slowly to the ground floor, she very rarely noticed but normally the locals of _Galad Caras_ watched her; it's not every day you see a person tranced by falling leafs. People were generally shocked that she didn't fall from the bridge rope, Gilraen always lent excessively close towards falling point, she leaned on her left elbow, using her right hand to play with her long dark brown hair, rotating her finger as she brought it through, this was probably why she had curly hair.

All the bridges of _Galad Caras_ eventually centred to the largest tree in the never-ending forest; this is where the Elder had lived for as long as people can care to remember. Gilraen had only been to the Elders tree on two occasions, one was the recognition of the village as all children have to once they're born into the village, Gilraen was unable to picture any thoughts of the recognition. The other was to become the village hunter; Gilraen always came back with some form of trophy or food, possibly the best hunter for _Galad Caras_. But there were concerns about how Gilraen was always successful. Maybe she had the gift? The locals feared this; her continuing detachment to the social structure of _Galad Caras_ made people suspicious, supporting their fears.

Despite their fears, the people of _Galad Caras_ respected Gilraen as a hunter, mainly because of her exploits. Her most known was the slaying of a rampaging _Lycanthrope_; a werewolf. The disturbances were only in the forests it never got to the village itself nevertheless people needed to go down to the forest for food and supplies. It started off with people feeling like they were being watched, soon after rumers of a gigantic wolf were spreading like wildfire. Then there were attacks.

Gilraen remembered that day well.

A local Bosmer ran across the bridge heading towards the Elders tree, the sounds of his ferocious running could be heard throughout the village, the wooden bridge beneath his feet swayed side to side yet he would not slow down. He was injured; four scratches torn his tattered badge-coloured shirt, blood stained the shirt as it dripped down his shoulder. The Bosmer held his right hand over the scratch through a reaction of pain.

The injured Bosmer finally reached the giant hollowed-out hole revealing a large room, there was little to see. The room was mostly shrouded in shadow, he could make out it was dome shaped, he saw a hole - a window perhaps; allowing light to come in the hollowed-out hole. The beam of light coming through the window revealed a chair in the center of the gigantic dome-shaped hole. The chair was no normal chair it was too big; it was like a throne. In this throne sat an aged Bosmer, to the left was a guard who wore a suit of golden Elven armor.

"Elder! Elder... There... There's a..." The injured Bosmer was lost for words, pain overcame his ability to make coherent sense.

"Calm yourself, peasant!" The guards' voice boomed through the dome-shaped room. The Bosmer stumbled and tried to calm himself, the pain in his arm grew worse with time.

"I apologise, sir... I was attacked, by a rampant beast. I am unsure of what it was, but I believe it to be a wolf of some kind."

There was a stale silence in the air. Before the Elder was hidden shadow but as he leant towards the guard, the window light highlighted his meter long beard; it was pure white and pointed towards his chest. One side of the Elders face could be seen, it was not wrinkled through age which was odd since he has been here since the birth of _Galad Caras_. Instead his skin was smooth. An eye lash was seen sticking out; like an owls lash but longer, again the hair was pure white. It appeared that the Elder had given instructions to the guard but the Bosmer failed to hear a word from the Elder. The guard nodded and walked up to the injured Bosmer.

"You should have the village alchemist to have a look at that scratch; it looks deep." The guard placed his arm on the Bosmer's shoulder in a calming manner. "My orders are to post village guard near the entrances to _Galad Caras_. We will put a stop to this."

The injured Bosmer walked out of the tree dome, bits of ivy were seeping over the entrance he ducked his head and used his hand to move the ivy out of they way, he then walked off to one of many bridges. The Elven guard walked towards the Elder.

"Maybe we should have a hunter to dispose of the wolf, sire."

Gilraen was sleeping through the commotion, she had never dreamt before, normally her mind was a blank when she slept. But that time, it was different. Gilraen had a hard time keeping the dream in focus. Gilraen pictured a blue pulsating cloud, an aura. It flashed inwards and outwards, flashing blue streaks into the white expanse. Something happened, something wrong. The blue expanse began to shrink, a red streak of light burst through the blue aura pointing west. Shards of light from the blue aura flew into the white expanse and disintegrated. Another burst from the east, two more from north and south. The four streaks of red light began to grow in width and length it slowly absorbed the blue aura. The blue aura appeared to be drawn into the center of the mass of colours, like a black hole except it replaced blue with red. The colours seemed to merge together creating a void. The dominance of the blue was soon non-existent, only a red aura was left pulsating. It started to spread into the white expanse until all she could see was red.

"Gilraen." The voice seemed to echo, she was unable to place the origin. Echoed footsteps were heard, soon after it felt like a earthquake was pin-pointed on her arm. "Gilraen wake..."

Gilraen woke up with a male Bosmer in her hands, he was choking unable to breathe. She struggled to let go, it was like they were magnetized to the neck. She eventually pulled herself from the Bosmer, taking a step back to support herself from pulling away.

"By the nine...!" The Bosmer cleared his throat, wrapping his hand to rub his sore neck. "... Are you insane?!"

"..." Gilraen was more concerned about the dream. From never having dreams to disturbing images was quite shocking.

"This is the last time I visit _you_ when you're sleeping." The Bosmer obviously trying to recollect what he was suppose to say, his experience bewildered him. He then clicked his fingers a moment later. "That's it... You're suppose to go see the Elder's defender, he needs to see you... Something about a wolf problem."


End file.
